Closings & Openings in Pittsfield's Changing Downtown
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Amidst a spate of closings in the downtown, new enterprises are quickly moving in to occupy vacant locations almost as rapidly as they become available.On the southern end, the Emporium gift store at 31 South St. announced two weeks ago that it will close Oct. 1. This news came just eight months after the store relocated from 441 North St., where it had occupied a space for a year previously.
Proprietor Carrie Wright cited several factors in what she described as a "bittersweet" decision that included lackluster sales in 2011 and a reduced market for boutique and handmade artisan items. This, combined with a need to devote more time to her growing family (she is due to deliver her third child in early November), as well as husband Bill Wright's growing photography business, made the timing seem right.
 One of two new costume shops has set up headquarters in the South Street space recently vacated by Emporium. |
Kara Demler, formerly manager of the Berkshire Masquerade store on North Street, has begun merchandising costumes already out for perusal and will be open there at least through the end of 2011.
While Emporium's space is changing hands, the future of Storefront Artist Project with which it shares the retail space, remains unclear. The nonprofit's Chairwoman Maria Mingalone said the project will honor its lease through the end of the year while decides whether to continue a full-time gallery.
On North Street, the closing of Chapters Bookstore at 78-80 North St. came as a surprise to some, following a seemingly successful tenure of more than three years. While there has been no definite announcement yet, Chapters has indicated that it is interested in launching an online store in the near future.
Last week, at least half of the space formerly occupied by Chapters reopened as Brits R Us, a new store supplying British and Irish food products and memorabilia.
Proprietor Alan Greaves, a British native who has lived in Pittsfield for 12 years, says he finally got tired of driving to New York or Boston to get the authentic food items from home he loves, and believes there is enough customer base of other British expatriates, visitors, as well as Anglophiles and curious foodies in the Berkshires to warrant opening his store here.
Greaves is still in the process of building up to an inventory of all the merchandise he plans to carry, but for now is covering the basics and letting the stock be customer driven.
In addition to a basic supply of meats and the obligatory white and black pudding, Greaves has all the pork, steak and kidney pies an Englishman could want on their way. He also stocks tea, baked beans, sodas, and what he hopes will be an ever-expanding array of English, Irish and Scottish food items and assorted merchandise.
Most significantly, there is already an entire side wall of imported candy, including beloved favorites like Fry's and Aero candies and Turkish Delights, as well as a wide range of authentic Cadbury products. Greaves notes that while they may look very similar in packaging, the Cadbury products typically found in the United States are made under contract by Hershey.
"Which taste like crap," Greaves opined with a distinctly English sneer.
Elsewhere in downtown, another costume store is opened this week. Be*Spoke Costuming, run by Kathy Kearns, is located at 146 Be*Spoke will open with an ongoing 50 percent sale to clear out a large amount of overstock Kearns purchased from the former Berkshire Masquerade. This more generic Halloween merchandise she intends to pare down to open up more room for her true passion, which is creating original costumes and custom tailoring.
Kearns said she hopes to expand relationships with local theatrical productions as well as the many themed costume events that go on in the Berkshires throughout the year. Her opening flyer reads "WELCOME ZOMBIES" in large bold type at the bottom, a nod to the 2nd annual Zombie Pub Crawl in downtown Pittsfield on Oct. 8. She is partnering with the event to provide an array of makeup and professional makeup assistance.
Other new downtown businesses opened this summer include the Treehouse, which specializes in nontoxic, eco-friendly infant, children and maternity clothes and accessories. Treehouse opened last month at the space formerly occupied by Pittsfield Contemporary art gallery at 305 North St. but celebrated with an official ribbon cutting with Mayor James Ruberto on Sept. 10.
Farther down at 391 North St., where The Market closed this past winter, Mission Bar and Tapas owner Jim Benson is trying a new experiment called Y Bar. Benson calls Y Bar (pronounced EE Bar, as in the Spanish "and") "a low-key alternate lounge space" to his thriving bar across the street. Mission has struggled with ongoing issues and scrutiny regarding its listed capacity, which is frequently well under the number of customers who wish to enter.
